A pleasing wrap-up.
Max and Mary uncover family secrets during a time-traveling mission.
In this third series installment, plucky Max questions her relationship to Mary and explores its roots. But before she confronts her, Max and her group of noble Midknights must first find Mary—a thief wanted for stealing food—and journey from their home kingdom of Byjovia to the realm of Klunk, Mary’s homeland and Byjovia’s sworn enemy. Along the way, expected hilarity ensues: pesky pirates, a dragon ride, much magical mayhem (including spells gone wrong that turn people into a cat and an apple), and copious puns and gags. Eventually, Max and Mary find the mystical Tower of Time, attempting to travel back in time and see if they can untangle their pasts in hopes of making a new future and saving those they love. With its medieval-inspired setting, rollicking antics, and zippy pacing pairing comics panels with bursts of text, Peirce’s newest offering is perhaps the most substantial plotwise, tying up loose ends from previous volumes with a happily-ever-after ending rather than a cliffhanger. However, the twists are not particularly revelatory; most readers will be able to easily guess the big reveal. Predictability aside, fans of the series should be pleased with the tidy ending. In the black-and-white illustrations, Max and Mary read as White; secondary characters present as having a wider range of skin tones and hair textures.
A pleasing wrap-up. (Graphic/fantasy hybrid. 7-12)Pub Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-37789-5
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
Thought-provoking and charming.
A sophisticated robot—with the capacity to use senses of sight, hearing, and smell—is washed to shore on an island, the only robot survivor of a cargo of 500.
When otters play with her protective packaging, the robot is accidently activated. Roz, though without emotions, is intelligent and versatile. She can observe and learn in service of both her survival and her principle function: to help. Brown links these basic functions to the kind of evolution Roz undergoes as she figures out how to stay dry and intact in her wild environment—not easy, with pine cones and poop dropping from above, stormy weather, and a family of cranky bears. She learns to understand and eventually speak the language of the wild creatures (each species with its different “accent”). An accident leaves her the sole protector of a baby goose, and Roz must ask other creatures for help to shelter and feed the gosling. Roz’s growing connection with her environment is sweetly funny, reminiscent of Randall Jarrell’s The Animal Family. At every moment Roz’s actions seem plausible and logical yet surprisingly full of something like feeling. Robot hunters with guns figure into the climax of the story as the outside world intrudes. While the end to Roz’s benign and wild life is startling and violent, Brown leaves Roz and her companions—and readers—with hope.
Thought-provoking and charming. (Science fiction/fantasy. 7-11)Pub Date: April 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-316-38199-4
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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